Pine Cone Cheese Ball

It’s Throwback Thursday and today’s retro appetizer recipe is a classic cheese ball. This recipe makes a pretty big Pine Cone Cheese Ball, which is great because your guests are definitely going to go back for seconds, maybe even thirds!

Great for a house party, family celebration, or Christmas party.

Cranberries add sweetness and, along with green onions, some festive colour! Toasted almonds add a perfectly crunchy texture to compliment the soft cheeses in the appetizer.

This dish is perfect to make ahead, especially since you need to let it stand in the fridge overnight to get the best flavour. While in the fridge, the cranberries will soften and release their sweetness, which goes great with the Gorgonzola blue cheese. Just make sure you don’t sample too much before you chill it!

Nothing Says “Holiday” Like a Cheese Ball!

Kary Osmond

Pine Cone Cheese Ball

Ingredients

1 cup raw almonds

1 cup cream cheese, softened

1 cup shredded old white Cheddar cheese

¼ cup Gorgonzola cheese

½ cup roughly chopped dried cranberries

2 tablespoons finely chopped green onion

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

Pepper

Rosemary (garnish)

Crackers

Instructions

Preheat oven 300°F.

Place almonds on a baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes. Set aside.

Blend cream cheese, Cheddar and Gorgonzola cheese in a food processor until smooth. Scrap cheese mixture into a bowl, and stir in cranberries, green onion, mayo, and season with a pinch of pepper. Cover and place in the fridge overnight.

Pine Cone Cheese Ball Tips:

It’s important for the cheese mixture to rest in the fridge (at least for a few hours) so that the flavours mix and mingle.

I like to form the pine cone (this idea came from my neighbour, Jim!) over a piece of parchment paper, that way I can move it around on the plate. Once I’m set on the placement, I trim the parchment paper.

This recipe can also be made into 2 smaller pine cones – 2 parties to go to, 2 appetizers!

It’s easier to blend the cheeses together in a food processor. But you can also stir the ingredients together by hand, just make sure your cream cheese and Gorgonzola cheese are at room temperature.

A dash of Worcestershire would taste great.

Once all the almonds are in, you can very gently press the cheese ball so that it’s the perfect pine cone cheese ball shape.

Pine Cone Cheese Ball is published on 2013-12-12T09:03:40-05:00 and last modified: 2016-12-16T09:47:28-05:00 by Kary Osmond